St Stephen’s vs Delhi University: What does the 1992 SC judgement say?
India Today
Find out what the 1992 Supreme Court judgement says in the St Stephen's vs Delhi University case.
St Stephen's College on Thursday informed Delhi University to abide by the 1992 Supreme Court judgement on the admission procedure for students who wish to study at the college. The college principal, John Varghese, cited the 1992 Supreme Court judgement that minority institutions receiving state funds were entitled to give preference or reserve seats for candidates belonging to their own minority community on the basis of religion or language.
The Supreme Court directed that such institutions be allowed to reserve upto 50 per cent of their seats for students from their own community. The court also directed that any such differential treatment must be in conformity with the standards of the university.
The matter was heard by a five-judge bench where the apex court held that differential treatment of students in the admission procedure was essential to maintain the minority character of the institution and such admission process did not violate article 29(2) (denial of admission on grounds of religion, race, language, caste) or article 14 (equality before the law) of the constitution.
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The case was brought before the Supreme Court on the issue of the validity of the admission procedure at St Stephen’s College as well as the preference given to Christian candidates by way of reservation.
A student from Delhi University had approached the Delhi High Court after the college decided to include an additional round of interview in the admission process. The college’s admission criteria were different from the university’s admission procedure for B.A. and B.Com courses.
The issue reached the top court through an Article 32 (right to move the Supreme Court) petition alleging violation of fundamental rights of the students who weren’t eligible for the reserved seats.
